001
Floating among the clouds, in the ethereal realm of immortals, Nan Yin was exchanging skills with the rarely visited Star Lord of Fate when suddenly she heard a believer's vow echoing in her ears—
Bodhisattva, Bodhisattva, if you can hear me, please help me!
My name is Su Yun'er, and I'm about to die. It's all my fault, Grandfather Prime Minister. He's a big bad guy. Please help me get rid of him.
Sigh... Why do good people not live long, while turtles live for a thousand years...?
My younger brother is only three years old. He is so pitiful. He has not yet eaten much good food in this world, and he is going to be beheaded along with us. Although my mother said that beheading does not hurt, it must be very ugly. I don't want to see my brother beheaded. Please help me save him.
Nan Yin was stunned for a moment, then heard the believer continue—
Although I don't want to admit it, Brother Sanhu is a good person. He said he would marry me when I grew up. Now it seems that this can't happen. Otherwise, could you help me take him with me? That way we can be together in the next life...
Oh no, no, never mind, let's not take him with us. He's so afraid of dying. How about this: after I die and am reincarnated, can you help me be reborn next to him? Counting from now on... um, it's only an eight-year age difference. Father is eight years older than Mother, it's a perfect match...
Nan Yin couldn't help but laugh: "What kind of wish is this? I'm just a tea-serving fairy, not the Guanyin who saves people from suffering. How did you end up making a wish for me?"
The immortal god of destiny sitting opposite her raised his long eyebrows: "You haven't met your performance target for this month. You should be grateful to receive the wish someone makes to you. Why are you being so picky?"
"No, please listen to what she's saying..."
The old man, seemingly oblivious, placed a chess piece in his hand on the ground: "I heard you."
Nan Yin raised an eyebrow.
"In the Kingdom of Namo, treacherous officials are in power, and this year is a year of great disaster. Several ministers will fall from grace. The one you are hearing about is the granddaughter of the Minister of War of Namo, named Su Yun'er. Their family..." The Golden Immortal of Fate calculated with his fingers, "has just been sentenced to have their property confiscated and beheaded."
Nan Yin suddenly crossed her arms and looked at Siming Jinxian knowingly: "Old man, did you come to play chess with me today with a premeditated plan?"
Si Ming stroked his long, trailing eyebrows and said slowly, "This Nanwu Kingdom is filled with demonic energy and evil spirits causing chaos, but the kingdom's fortune is not yet over. I originally intended to find Su Yun'er a thousand years in the future through the timeline to go back and set things right, but the old man Si Zhan wouldn't let me go. He said that Su Yun'er a thousand years in the future is currently developing a new type of nuclear-powered fighter jet and absolutely cannot leave, so..."
Nan Yin: "So?"
"Since your performance is poor, I'll give you a chance. You'll go down to the mortal realm for a few months and help the Kingdom of Namo eradicate evil, and I'll count it as... three thousand merits. How about it?"
Nan Yin shut her mouth, which was about to make excuses. After thinking for a moment, she said, "I am going to eliminate the traitors on this trip, which will save at least ten thousand people. You only want to give me three thousand merits? I won't do it."
Si Ming held up a hand: "Five thousand."
Nan Yin glanced sideways and said, "Ten thousand."
Si Ming lightly tapped the table: "Deal!"
Having reached an agreement, Nan Yin, ever carefree, clapped her hands and, as if bravely facing her execution, made a hand seal and descended to the mortal realm.
Si Ming called from behind, "Hey, you haven't looked at your destiny chart yet..."
***
She woke up again after a short nap, feeling a chilling aura all around her, making her teeth chatter. Having not suffered like this in years, Nan Yin cursed herself for being ripped off; she should have asked for 20,000 merit points, since the old man Si Ming hadn't even haggled!
At the same time, the original owner's memories also burst open in his mind like shattered ice—
The original owner was a seven or eight-year-old girl born into a wealthy family, but unfortunately, her grandfather, who had risen to prominence, fell hard. One day, soldiers stormed into the mansion, and the whole family was imprisoned.
In the dark and hopeless prison, the gentle mother clutched two straws and made her and her sister whip them, saying that whoever whipped the longer one would live. However, she whipped the shorter one. Soon after, her sister fed herself a candy-like pill, and then she fell ill and lost consciousness.
When she awoke again, it was now. Nan Yin gleaned a four-word mantra: "There must be a grievance."
But this small body seemed to be completely dead, having lost four of its five senses, and could only hear the cawing of crows overhead.
After a while, she heard two light footsteps approaching. Then, a pungent odor hit her nose, like wasabi, straight to her brain...
Nan Yin took a deep breath, her lungs filled with the stench of rotting flesh.
"She's awake, Prime Minister." A clear young man's voice rang in her ears. Nan Yin tried her best, but her eyelids were still so heavy that she could only open them through a blurry slit. Two figures, one tall and one short, peered through the slit, their blurry faces looking down at her.
Then another deep, middle-aged voice said, "This is the address. I've already given all the instructions. Take her there and keep her under an assumed name. Protect her."
The young man asked, "Should we tell her about Kyoto?"
The middle-aged man said, "...She's eight years old. What doesn't she know? If she wants to know, just tell her."
The young man nodded: "But this means her later life will be very difficult."
The middle-aged man's voice sounded slightly tired: "It's tough... living in this kind of world, who doesn't have a tough time? Go, in a few years I'll bring her back. Then, whether she wants revenge or to let it go, it's all up to her."
The young man clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Yes! Thank you, Prime Minister, for protecting my master and preserving his bloodline!"
Nan Yin was somewhat confused: The Prime Minister's protection? Didn't the little girl make a wish that the Prime Minister was a big bastard...?
After a flurry of actions, Nan Yin was like a small fish being slaughtered, stuffed into a carriage, and swayed away.
About ten days later, the carriage entered a remote county town with beautiful mountains and clear waters. The wheels chuckled and finally stopped in front of a courtyard by the river.
The door opened, and an elderly woman dressed simply and cleanly with gray hair came out with her family. She said, "Sangsang is back. Come quickly and let your grandmother see her."
"..."
And so, Nan Yinluo became the third daughter of a landlord in a small county town on the southwestern border, named Qin Sang.
The young man who had rushed to bring her here was the same one who had thanked the Prime Minister for protecting her at the mass grave that day. He had changed his name to Qin Baoyun and stayed by her side to protect her. The mute girl who had served her all the way was called Ying'er.
The days of immortals are long and boundless, while those of humans live day to day, so there is no difference. Nan Yin is currently reborn into a body that is only eight years old, probably not old enough to seek revenge. So she is not in a hurry and leisurely brews wine today and plants tea tomorrow, spending seven years here in a carefree manner.
Seven years later, Nan Yin—no, now called Qin Sang—became the object of affection for the number one playboy of a wealthy family in the county.
The number one playboy sat on the balustrade of the restaurant, watching Qin Sang enter the city gate from afar. He pursed his lips, whistled loudly, and asked the person next to him, "Who is the most beautiful woman in our Li County?"
Without hesitation, the person next to him laughed and replied, "Of course! Sang Sang is the most beautiful girl in all of Quzhou!"
Qin Sang returned from the tea plantation, and the carriage ride made her dizzy, so she got off and walked as soon as she entered the city gate.
This small town and county has a small population, and the officials at the city gate all know each other: "Miss Qin went to the tea mountain again. Did she bring back anything good?"
Qin Sang then took out a small package from the basket and handed it over with a smile: "Lord Sun, you've worked hard. Here are some newly made eyebrow tips this spring. Try them and they'll help you stay alert."
While saying how embarrassed he was, Sun Chengshou reached out and took it, then winked and said, "Young Master Yang has been waiting for quite a while at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion up ahead."
Qin Sang understood, thanked her, and led Ying'er into another alley.
This young master of the Yang family, Yang Wenhao, is one of the most notorious playboys in the county. He has the capital to be a playboy. Not only is he handsome, but his father is the county magistrate, and his mother's family is a well-known wealthy household in the area. He was born into a life of luxury and leisure.
It wasn't surprising that he took a liking to Qin Sang. Although the county's boys' and girls' academies were managed separately, there was always some gossip and teasing on the way home from school. Young people also loved to ask who was the prettiest girl in the girls' academy, and without exception, they would always mention Qin Sang's name.
So the spirited young man went to wait at the entrance of the girls' courtyard. When he saw Qin Sang come out, he immediately stepped forward, opened his folding fan, and struck a graceful pose, saying, "Where do you live, young lady? If it's far and inconvenient, I can give you a ride."
When Qin Sang first met Yang Wenhao, she thought his chuunibyou (adolescent delusions of grandeur) temperament was truly timeless. She didn't hesitate and readily agreed, "Then thank you very much, young master."
Yang Wenhao felt there was no challenge at all, no fun at all. Shouldn't he have blushed, made excuses, and then blocked things from the left and right? Why was he so quick to agree? He walked next to Qin Sang and suddenly didn't know how to start a conversation.
Qin Sang smiled and said, "I think you are a handsome and dashing young master with an extraordinary appearance. May I ask your name and where you live?"
Upon hearing this, Yang Wenhao immediately became wary. With his family background, his power and wealth, and his dashing appearance, was she asking him this with ulterior motives? So he stammered out a lie and ran away as if fleeing.
Strangely enough, from then on he became obsessed, his mind constantly filled with Qin Sang's ambiguous, affectionate eyes. The unattainable is always more alluring, so he tried to bolster his courage: What's there to be afraid of? She's not going to eat me alive, she's just playing around.
So, for the second time, he dressed up and waited at the entrance of the girls' college for Qin Sang to finish school. But this time, Qin Sang didn't even give him a second glance. Instead, she happily ran off to another pretty boy who had been waiting at the college entrance for a long time and walked away intimately with him.
After some inquiries, it was discovered that the young man was the grandson of Old Master Tang, the owner of Renxintang, the largest medical clinic in the county. He was the third son, named Tang Zi'an, or Tang San. Old Master Tang was a highly skilled physician and had even saved his own grandfather's life; he couldn't be beaten.
Now things are really messed up. Young Master Yang has started to compete with Young Master Tang, declaring that he will marry no one but Qin Sang. Even if his father beats him and he runs around the mansion yelling, he will remain steadfast in his determination and never change his mind!
Qin Sang thought this person was probably an idiot, so she tried to avoid him as much as possible.
The master and servant originally intended to bypass the fool, but unexpectedly, Yang Wenhao caught them red-handed.
“Sang Sang,” he called out affectionately, “why didn’t you invite me when you went out to pick tea? I could have helped you out.”
Qin Sang gave him a cold shoulder: "How could I trouble the young master of the county magistrate? Please step aside. I just carried some manure today, so be careful not to soil your fragrant clothes."
"Huh? How can servants do things like this? Why are you making me do this myself? Good heavens, let me see your hands..."
Qin Sang stepped aside: "Young Master Yang, have you finished your homework? Aren't you afraid of being punished by the teacher for not being able to write an essay?"
Yang Wenhao said, "Look at what you're saying... I'm not afraid to see you!"
Seeing his shameless and unperturbed demeanor, Qin Sang was quite annoyed. She had been thinking about finding a way to solve the problem once and for all, but she hadn't been able to come up with one yet. Today, she was unlucky and he had blocked her way again.
Seeing Qin Sang move to the wall, Yang Wenhao leaned against it, clutching his chest with a pained expression, and said, "Sangsang, after all this time, don't you understand my heart? My feelings for you are genuine... Damn it! Who the hell is asking for it!"
Yang Wenhao, his arm trembling slightly, looked towards the alley entrance and angrily took his anger out on a winnowing basket of salted vegetables drying next door. The servant, emboldened by his master's power, immediately barked at him, "You blind bastard, do you know who you hit? Are you out of your mind?!"
"I don't care who you are, you bastard! You deserve to be beaten for harassing a woman in the alley!"
The newcomer was dressed in a long, moon-white robe with dark patterns. He had handsome features and a spirited demeanor. He was charming and playful, yet possessed a composure rarely seen in someone his age. He walked into the alley with his hands behind his back, pulled Qin Sang behind him, and looked down at Yang Wenhao with a smile, saying, "Come on, tell me, whose dog are you?"
Seeing that the man's clothes were all things that couldn't be bought locally, and the white jade with cloud patterns at his waist was especially rare and lustrous, coupled with the imposing manner emanating from his brows, which already overwhelmed him in terms of aura, Yang Wenhao wondered if some high-ranking official had recently come to inspect the county. Although his father was known for his arrogance in the county, he was still just a minor county official, with the prefectural government above him... Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth and spat out, "And who are you? Why are you hitting people for no reason?!"
The man found it amusing: "For no reason? Didn't I explain why I hit him?"
Yang Wenhao retorted angrily, "Qin Sang and I are friends, why are you meddling in our business?"
"Oh, friend." The man nodded. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were friends. But the atmosphere in your county is truly open-minded. It's amazing that men and women can be friends like this in this alley. It seems I've been too naive. My apologies."
Knowing he had suffered a loss that day, Yang Wenhao was eager to return and ask his father who had come from the county. If the person was local, there would be a chance to find them; if not, he would have to leave first and then make a plan, since he estimated he couldn't beat them. So he snorted, left with the words "I'll settle the score with you next time," and ran off with his servant.
The young man in white turned his head with satisfaction: "Don't be afraid, young lady, the person is... gone?"
“Young master, you’ve only just arrived and you’re already causing trouble. Don’t you know the saying that even a powerful dragon can’t suppress a local snake?” The servant beside him muttered under his breath, “If you really encounter someone strong, I can’t beat them.”
"That coward from earlier, a local bully? Heh." The young man in white patted his folding fan. "Let's go, find a comfortable place to stay first."
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